@Properties Furthers Bronzeville Expansion with New Office

Chicago largest residential real estate brokerage @properties Christie’s International Real Estate is expanding to the storied Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side — for better or worse.

As the Chicago area’s leading brokerage by sales volume, @properties’ decision to open an office in Bronzeville at 4149 South Cottage Grove Avenue is the latest sign of the area’s rapid development, generating both excitement and concern among locals, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Since 2020, @properties has steadily eaten into the share of deals in the Bronzeville market as well as other South Side neighborhoods. The firm’s sales volume increased by 67 percent and overall transactions grew 35 percent in the last three years alone, it told the outlet.

The firm took over as the largest market shareholder in 2021 with $31.5 million of properties in the area. The average sale price at the time was nearly $432,000, a significantly higher average than just the previous year, when it was a little more than $346,000 and the brokerage’s properties in the neighborhood were valued at $18.9 million.

However, Bronzeville has historically been known as an affordable housing community. Several residents now fear being forced to relocate as property values and taxes skyrocket. One said their tax bill spiked 22 percent in 2021.

Despite surging costs of living in the area, some locals are optimistic about the slew of new developments, as Bronzeville has suffered from neglect and suspect building in the past. Investors, developers, elected officials and residents are seeing the potential in the historic neighborhood, including @properties co-CEO and co-founder Mike Golden.

“If you look at what’s happening down there and you look at how other neighborhoods have progressed, first you see some of the gentrification and improvements in neighborhoods, particularly the housing stock, and then you see commercial infrastructure come in behind it,” Golden said to the outlet. “We hope to see that kind of progression down there.”

According to Roderick Wilson of Lugenia Burns Hope Center, an organization devoted to improving the community through various initiatives, government and policymakers must work to make sure Bronzeville is stabilized. His organization is on the hunt for land on which to build affordable housing in the area and feels there must be a balance between developing it and ensuring existing residents aren’t priced out.

— Quinn Donoghue